Indigenous artefacts and oral stories

Abstract

This article presents the results of studies conducted by Canadian academics in collaboration with Sturgeon Lake and Pelican Narrows First Nations communities (Saskatchewan, Canada). The objectives of the project were: (1) developing a research ethics protocol for collecting, studying, and preserving indigenous artefacts; (2) measurements of chemical compositions of artefacts; (3) collecting oral stories of Elders. Within the project, two workshops were organized in Pelican Narrows and Sturgeon Lake. Post-secondary students were trained to work on the project. The laboratory measurements of chemical compositions of artefacts were conducted at the Scanning Electron Microscope Laboratory (University of Alberta), and the Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory (University of Saskatchewan). The carbon-dating measurements were carried out at André E. Lalonde Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (University of Ottawa). The statistical analysis of chemical compositions was conducted in order to test the provenance similarities of artefacts. The project was supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage.